Steadiness

Small moves, in both directions

A store of value should hold its worth when other assets swing. Since 2005, the colored diamond index's worst calendar year was a 2.2% decline. Over the same period, gold lost 28% in a single year, silver 36% and US stocks 37%.

The worst year for each asset

Each bar shows the biggest calendar-year loss since 2005, and the year it happened.

Worst calendar year since 2005 -20%-40%-60%0% Colored diamonds (FCRF), 2024-2.2%US home prices, 2008-12.0%US bonds, 2022-13.0%Gold, 2013-28.3%Silver, 2013-36.3%US stocks (S&P 500), 2008-37.0%Copper, 2008-53.2%Nickel, 2008-62.2%

Calendar-year change, end of year to end of year. Silver data from 2007. Copper, nickel and US home prices use December monthly averages. Colored diamonds: the FCRF index's 2.2% fall in 2024 was reported as the largest annual decline in its history. [Confirm with FCRF year-by-year data before launch] Sources: FCRF Q4 2024 report; The Jewelry Magazine, January 2025; gold and silver annual returns via Chartrow; S&P 500 total returns via Slickcharts; US bonds (AGG) via Chartrow; Case-Shiller US National Index, copper and nickel (IMF) via FRED.

2025, a year of big swings

In 2025 precious metals soared, while white and lab-grown diamond prices fell by a quarter. The colored diamond index slipped 1%.

How much each asset moved in 2025 -25%+50%+100%+150%0% Lab-grown diamonds, wholesale-26.0%White diamonds, De Beers rough prices-25.0%Nickel-3.6%Fine wine (Liv-ex 100)-2.5%Colored diamonds (FCRF)-1.0%US home prices+1.2%Watches (WatchCharts)+5.1%US bonds+7.2%Fine art (Artprice100)+11.2%US stocks (S&P 500)+17.9%Copper+32.3%Gold+65.0%Platinum+125.2%Silver+144.4%

One year doesn't measure long-run volatility, but it shows the size of recent swings. Sources: FCRF Q4 2025 report; gold and silver, BullionVault; platinum, Fortune (Dec 31, 2024 and 2025 prices); copper and nickel (IMF, December averages) and Case-Shiller US National Index via FRED; S&P 500 via Slickcharts; US bonds (AGG) via Chartrow; fine wine and watches via Knight Frank's 2026 Wealth Report summary; fine art, Artprice; De Beers rough prices, TheStreet; lab-grown wholesale prices, Edahn Golan via Professional Jeweller.

The trade-off

Steadiness cuts both ways. Colored diamonds didn't crash in bad years, and they didn't soar in 2025 either. Since 2005 the index as a whole has returned about 5.4% a year, against 11.5% for gold. A colored diamond suits investors who want to preserve value and spread risk, not those chasing the biggest gains.

The index covers a broad range of colored diamonds, not just the top stones we list. Indexes built from dealer prices and auction results also move more smoothly than prices on an exchange, which can make any appraisal-based asset look steadier than it would trade. Read the risk factors

What about lab-grown diamonds?

Lab-grown diamonds are chemically identical to mined ones and cost a fraction as much. They have already reshaped the market for white diamonds, and it's fair to ask whether colored diamonds are next.

What happened to white diamonds

  • Lab-grown prices have fallen more than 90% since 2018, and wholesale prices fell another 26% in 2025.
  • Lab-grown stones took a large share of US engagement rings, the core of the white diamond market.
  • Natural white diamond prices followed them down: a typical 1-carat stone fell about 30% from 2021 to 2025, and De Beers' rough prices fell 25% in 2025. De Beers closed its own lab-grown brand, Lightbox, in 2025.

Why colored diamonds have behaved differently so far

  • Different buyers. White diamonds are mostly bought for engagement rings, where a cheaper stone that looks the same is a direct substitute. Top natural colored diamonds are bought by collectors for rarity and provenance, more like an original painting than a print.
  • Shrinking supply. The Argyle mine in Australia, long the main source of pink diamonds, closed in 2020.
  • Proof of origin. GIA reports state whether a diamond's color is natural, and lab-grown stones can be detected.
  • The record so far. Lab-grown pinks and blues have been sold widely since at least 2018. Over the same years the colored diamond index slipped only 2.2% in 2024 and 1.0% in 2025, while white diamonds fell 13.3% in 2024 alone.

Where the risk is real

  • Lower-grade colored stones are more exposed. Yellow diamonds, the most common color, fell 5.6% in 2024 and 1.9% in 2025.
  • Natural white diamonds had a rarity story too, and it didn't protect them. Buyer preferences could shift for colored stones as well.

What we do about it

  • We list only top-grade natural stones worth $1 million or more, each with a GIA report confirming natural color and a documented story.
  • Every stone's report, custody and ownership are recorded in our provenance registry on Hedera.
  • We track colored and lab-grown prices every quarter and report what we find.

Sources

Past performance doesn't predict future results.